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"LOVE"... it's a brand new kind of LIL Galleries show!!February is the month of love... so a bunch of my photographer friends made a show in celebration of the greatest of all the four letter words; LOVE! It's awesome for so many fantastic reasons...

For one, it's going live in The Ford Building in Portland tomorrow. Woot! They're having an event called "Friday at the Ford" and the theme is (naturally) "Love". Everyone's invited! It's on the second floor, where all the creative types and artists are - who will be opening their doors, enjoying noshes, music and Valentines. Old fashioned fun! If you're in the area, check it out between 5-7pm. LIL Galleries will be be showing everyone "LOVE" the whole time!

But there's another level to this that I'm completely in love with.I asked 20 photographers to contribute a photo that speaks of love to them - and their reason why. The response has been overwhelming!! Not only did everyone jump in with both feet and a world of enthusiasm - they helped guide me to create what I feel is a like love in bottle. It's so remarkable how each person's essence comes through every single photo and words. The fact that we all met and became friends (or got married!) on G+ just clinches the deal.

Thank you with my heart to these wonderful friends and talented artists:

To quote +Barry Blanchard, who got a sneak peak yesterday: "I can't remember the last time I was pulled into ANYTHING like this before! Just WOW! Chills, speechless, the whole nine yards. I haven't stopped thinking about it since!"

If You've not yet been turned on to +LIL Galleries and the brilliant and tremendously thoughtfully prepared curations by my wonderful photographer friend +Karen Hutton, then I am so incredibly pleased to be able to share this with you! Karen has put a wonderful new spin on the act of digital curation, and turned it much like she does with anything she points her lens at....into a work of art in and of its own! Take a peek at the video! Then be sure to drop by her page +LIL Galleries and also stop by her website www.lilgalleries.com for more! More! More!﻿

+Annette Biggers show is called "Reborn." It features her incredible fantasy photography work.. and tells a story that is dear to both of our hearts. I've loved Annette's work since I first laid eyes on it here on G+. It took while for us to finally meet, but when we did it was like greeting a long lost sister! We featured her as our final guest on +LIFE Through The Lens (http://goo.gl/GVQOr)... because she embodies what our intent was in doing the show. That of having a bigger vision, of sharing and helping people, of giving back.

This show speaks to the heart of Annette... her innermost vision for herself and her work.. both in photography, and in life. ﻿

For my interview on LIL Galleries... I couldn't very well interview myself! Ok, well I tried, but it was the dumbest thing I'd ever seen. Quick delete on that!

So I called my bff Michaela Pereira. Some of you may know her as one of the morning anchors on KTLA in Los Angeles. I could not have been in better hands! We talked about all kinds of stuff... where the idea for LIL Galleries came, the vision behind it, and a bunch of stuff that only a pal could ask. Dang, she's good! ﻿

"Little Things" features the macro photography of +Kelli Seeger Kim and +Kerry Murphy. And the piece that threw this show into the stratosphere of fabulosity was the music of +Kevin Burnes, Kerry's crazy talented brother.

He wrote a piece of music that was so utterly perfect that it told me not only where to place the photographs within the piece... but also what to name it: "Little Things.". Initially, I felt so strongly that it should be the first show that did not have my voice narrating that I didn't include any. I wanted the delicateness and sheer perfection of the music to be heard in its purity.

But Kerry felt differently! She said "At least an opening line, please?" and even went so far as to write it.

The show "Little Things" was a true artist collaboration. For the first time, I wanted to combine talents. So I joined my friends +Kelli Seeger Kim and +Kerry Murphy (who co-run #MacroMonday here on G+... and were two of my co-hosts on our G+ hangout show +LIFE Through The Lens) together with Kerry's brother +Kevin Burnes into one show. It was a FANTASTIC experience... and in this interview, we get together to talk about what it was like!﻿

Those of you who have met Alan's birds know they are stunning, funny, striking, complex. Those of you who haven't met them yet, oh lucky you; you are in for such a treat!

Alan's birds have become so popular that they've evolved into an entire genre within his photographic collection which he calls "Fine and Finer Feathered Friends". Here in +LIL Galleries, they also have a voice. A few voices, in fact! This show is set to the soaring “Vide Cor Meum”, sung by Katherine Jenkins and Rhys Meirion, with opening narrative by +Karen Hutton. The story is one of powerful attraction. In-your-face drama. And soulful emotions that are not merely for the birds, but for romantics and lovers everywhere.

Alan Shapiro is brilliant.Creating this show has been a true collaboration of hearts, souls and minds. Circle him if you haven't yet - love him even more if you have. Please feel delightfully free to share this everywhere!

It is my great honor to present Alan's Shapiro's show "My Heart" in LIL Galleries.Enjoy!

Psst... +Alan Shapiro and I just finished our interview today!All that has to happen now is render the video, get it over the right account on YouTube, create his Artist Profile page at www.lilgalleries.com and we can launch his new show!!

Almost ready with a brand new show!!Who... and what?Hint: +Alan Shapiro. See photo below. Ok, that's technically two hints.

The show itself is done... the only thing left is to interview Alan in a recorded hangout and ask him the myriad of questions I have for him about his photography, his vision, where he's been, where he's going and what's next for this creative genius! It'll be a good one... and completely for the birds! (OK, the hint-bomb is on!) Then we build his Artist Page on www.lilgalleries.com and do the big reveal both there and here. I. CAN. NOT. WAIT! Look for it in the next week or so. Might be a little delayed on account of the holiday, but we'll see. Your heart will take flight! (in case you missed any of the other hints. Crackin' myself up here.)------------------------------------------------------LIL Galleries has been an interesting project for me.I don't post all the time on this page... I mostly save it for news of each show. It's just me - +Karen Hutton - creating them... and honestly I'm still feeling my way with the bigger vision of it all. Not to mention, still figuring out how to manage a G+ Page. But I think something very cool is evolving. What started out as a fun way to show my own work, spread quickly to include my friends. We all met on G+... so it's truly a G+ project!

My husband and partner on this project+Joe Dolister was the one who first pointed out that I was also curating photographers. I never thought of myself as a curator... but entertained the idea. LIL Galleries as a curation process? Hmmm. Interesting. If so, what kind?

I think storytelling is huge. It's primal. Something in our DNA requires it. I think it's experiencing a resurgence now as we try to make sense of our world and find ways to give meaning to and live within the story that is unfolding in these times. And I think art is an enormous part of telling our stories. Just look up "Chauvet Cave" (ca. 30,000 B.C.) as one fascinating example.

Mind you, I'm not claiming that LIL Galleries to have that level of significance in the grand arc of history. But what I've found personally surprising and delightful is how it actually IS turning into a curated art form... and that by combining imagery with music and voice... it actually creates a completely new entity out of the other 3. After each show, musicians and photographers alike hear/see their work in a new way, as do I with the narratives. It's like combining flour, sugar, butter and spices... and having a magnificent cake appear. I think it's magically great fun. I'm never entirely sure what will appear. Just that every time I make a new show - there is a point where all the pieces fit and I get that excited tickle in my gut and giggle out loud. That's when I know I've 'got it'. It's like opening the new day's door on an Advent calendar. Wheee!

Sharing this with you all was scary at first. It's such a personal vision. But so far LIL Galleries has been embraced. I'm so grateful for that. Because I really do think this may be a new form of art gallery presentation that is emerging. A blend of that which is primal and as old as time... with the vision, passion art of new technology. When I imagine it, I get that excited tickle in my gut and giggle out loud.

I always did love it when dimensions got together to birth up a new one.TeeHee.

+Annette Biggers. What can I say to encompass what a force of nature that she is? Annette is an artist, photographer, humanitarian - and one of the most inspiring people I know! She has a vision of life and she lives it, full out. In our interview, she talks about how photography started for her, the place it truly occupies in her life, the meaning behind her fantasy photos... and her foundation Heart4 Africa (http://www.heart4africa.org). And oh yes, her exquisite show with LIL Galleries. ﻿

+Kevin Burnes is +Kerry Murphy brother. Did you know that? True fact! He is a BRILLIANT guitarist... and he created an original piece of music for the show we did that featured the macro photography of Kerry and +Kelli Seeger Kim. Kevin, Kerry and I hung out and talked about that... and a bunch of other stuff too. I was fascinated to learn how complex a song like "Little Things" could be! And loved what he had to say about getting to collaborate with his sister... what a family!﻿

If you're looking for the sweet, special brainchild and art project of Karen Hutton, then you're in the right place!

LIL Galleries brings voice, photography and music together to create a whole new way of experiencing the art of all three. It's both a website and physical installation. The physical part currently resides in a converted janitor's closet in Portland, OR.

You heard me right.

Janitor's closet.

"Whaaat?" I hear you exclaim.

Well, on the one hand, LIL Galleries is small. Portable. Personal. Art and beauty that was designed to be experienced in a personal space, just you and them. The way it was meant to be. This particular janitor's closet is in The Ford Building in Portland, OR. The closet was my manager Stacey Stahl's idea (we came up with this whole gallery idea together. Working title for awhile: Hobbit Closet Galleries. heh.).

It was neglected. Unused. Alone. So we reclaimed it and made it beautiful. Much the same way the owners of The Ford Building did when they reclaimed the old Ford manufacturing plant and turned it into an artist and creative business mecca. There's a full artist gallery downstairs... and LIL Galleries upstairs. Perfection.

LIL Galleries also stands for "Life is Light". And that's where it gets interesting. Photographers chase light... wait for light... live for light. Light also has that deeper, more etherial side to it.

LIL Galleries is about all of it.

It's about:

Collaborating with fantastic photographers... masters of light; to bring the wonderful stories that their photographs tell to life.

Working with musicians whose evocative songs stir the soul.

Then adding my voice as the narrative that weaves it all together in a deeply primal tradition of story.

I have a vision to create multimedia shows that live, breathe and remind us of our "spark of divine fire".